Tutorial Assets

Before you start, download and install these assets. It will help you to get the same result.

Introduction

If you are a beginner and are not good at painting, you can download and install the pattern, and skip the next part of the tutorial. To do that, go to Edit > Presets > Preset Manager. Change Preset Type to Patterns.

After that, click on the Load button, find our pattern file on your device, and press Load. That’s all—now the patterns have been added. Also, you can drag and drop the pattern file to Photoshop.

1. How to Create the Brain Pattern

First of all we need to create the brain pattern. It will be the base of our text effect.

Step 1

Open Photoshop (I use Photoshop CS6), go to File > New, and create a new 314 x 374 px document.

Step 2

Rename the layer as Background. Fill this one using #d88364 color.

Step 3

Create a New Layer (Layer > New > Layer) with the name Lines. Move it above the Background.

Step 4

Pick the Brush Tool (B), select a Hard Round brush, and go to Window > Brush to change some settings:

Size: 8 px

Spacing: 7%

If you are working with a graphics tablet, also check the Transfer and make sure that Opacity Jitter and Flow Jitter are controlled by Pen Pressure.

Step 5

Set the Foreground Color to #7f2b16. Make sure you are on the Lines layer. Let’s start drawing the lines of the convolutions. You can use Eraser Tool (E) to clean or delete part of the image. My result:

Step 6

Duplicate the Lines layer. Change the layer name to Shadow. This layer should be between Background and Lines.

Step 7

Right-click the Lines layer and choose Blending Options to create the Layer Style.

Add an Outer Glow:

Blend Mode: Normal

Opacity: 34%

Noise: 0%

Color:#7f2b16

Technique: Softer

Spread: 0%

Size: 4 px

Contour: Linear

Uncheck Anti-aliased

Range: 50%

Jitter: 0%

Step 8

Right-click the Shadow layer and choose Blending Options to create the Layer Style.

Add an Outer Glow:

Blend Mode: Normal

Opacity: 100%

Noise: 0%

Color:#c05648

Technique: Softer

Spread: 34%

Size: 16 px

Contour: Linear

Uncheck Anti-aliased

Range: 100%

Jitter: 0%

Step 9

Create a New Layer (Layer > New > Layer) with the name Highlight. Move it between the Lines and Shadow layers. Set the Blending Mode for the layer to Vivid Light. Pick the Brush Tool (B) and draw the highlights using #e9a186 color. If your result doesn’t look smooth, go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and set the Radius to 3 px.

Step 10

Now we need to make sure that our image works as a pattern. To do that, stay on the Lines layer, go to Select > All (Control-A) to select the picture, go to Edit > Copy Merged to copy all layers as one, and go to Edit > Paste (Control-V) to paste this layer as a new one. Rename it Pattern. Now select this layer, and go to Layer > Smart Objects > Convert to Smart Object (or right-click on the layer and choose Convert to Smart Object).

Step 11

Pick this Smart Object, go to Filter > Other > Offset, and set these values:

Step 12

As you can see, our future pattern has some issues. To fix it, create a New Layer (Layer > New > Layer), pick the Brush Tool (B), change the Hardness to 30%, and paint over it using the Eyedropper Tool (I) to pick the colors. Result:

Step 13

Create a new Hue/Saturation adjustment layer and decrease the Saturation to -20.

Step 14

Our image is ready, and all you need to do is to create a pattern. Go to Edit > Define Pattern. Type Brain Pattern in the Name field.

2. How to Create the Text Smart Object

The main goal of this part is the creation of a Smart Object with a text layer inside. It will help you to make fast changes in the future.

Step 1

Set the Foreground Color to #454545. After that, pick Switch Foreground and Background Colors (X).

Create a new 4000 x 1420 px document with resolution of 300 pixels/inch. Set Background Content as Background Color.

Step 2

Pick the Type Tool (T) and select the Rounds Black font. Set the Font Size around 250 pt and Font Color#ffa81f. Write “BRAIN” in capital letters.

Step 3

Select the Brain layer, press Control-A, pick the Move Tool, and press Align vertical center and Align horizontal center to move the layer to the center of the document.

Step 4

Go to Layer > Smart Objects > Convert to Smart Object to convert the text layer to a Smart Object(or right-click on the layer and choose Convert to Smart Object).

Step 5

Double-click with your mouse on the layer icon to open the Smart Object.

Go to Edit > Transform Free Path (Control-T) and change some settings of the text layer:

X: 2012 px

Y: 483 px

W: 93%

H: 111%

Step 6

Create the stain effect of the text using the Pen Tool (P). As you can see, I have filled the background with gray color to differentiate better. This layer is temporary and will be deleted before closing. My result:

Now you need to save it. Go to File > Save (or press Control-S) to do it and File > Close to close this file. After that, you will get an updated Smart Object with a new word.

Step 7

Pick this Smart Object and duplicate it four times. As a result, there will be five copies of the Smart Object. I suggest renaming each layer from the top to the bottom using the following names:

Volume

Pattern

Stroke

Shadow

Outer Stroke

It will help you to navigate the document during the following steps.

3. How to Create the Volume Layer Style

Step 1

Change the Fill of the layer to 0. Double-click with your mouse on the Volume layer to apply the following layer styles. Add a Bevel & Emboss using the following values:

Style: Inner Bevel

Technique: Smooth

Depth: 103%

Direction: Up

Size: 103 px

Soften: 16 px

Uncheck the Use Global Light box before setting an Angle: 120°

Altitude: 60°

Gloss Contour: Linear

Uncheck the Anti-aliased

Highlight Mode: Color Dodge

Highlight Color:#ffffff

Opacity: 65%

Shadow Mode: Color Dodge

Shadow Color:#ffffff

Opacity: 87%

Step 2

Add a Contour:

Contour: Half Round

Uncheck Anti-aliased

Range: 73%

Step 3

Add an Inner Shadow with these settings:

Blend Mode: Difference

Color:#7adafa

Uncheck the Use Global Light box before setting an Angle: -60°

Distance: 29 px

Choke: 20%

Size: 125 px

Contour: Linear

Uncheck the Anti-aliased

Noise: 2%

Step 4

Now add an Inner Glow:

Blend Mode: Overlay

Opacity: 72%

Noise: 0%

Color: #ffffff

Technique: Softer

Source: Edge

Choke: 4%

Size: 33 px

Uncheck the Anti-aliased

Range: 55%

Jitter: 0%

Step 5

Add a Satin style using these settings:

Blend Mode: Multiply

Color:#000000

Opacity: 36%

Angle: 0°

Distance: 25 px

Size: 66 px

Contour: Linear

Uncheck the Anti-aliased and Invert

Step 6

Add an Outer Glow:

Blend Mode: Multiply

Opacity: 57%

Noise: 0%

Color:#000000

Technique: Softer

Spread: 0%

Size: 25 px

Contour: Linear

Uncheck Anti-aliased

Range: 100%

Jitter: 0%

Step 7

Don’t forget about a Drop Shadow:

Blending Mode: Multiply

Color:#000000

Opacity: 41%

Uncheck the Use Global Light box before setting an Angle: 120°

Distance: 25 px

Spread: 0%

Size: 25 px

As a result, you will have the following image:

4. How to Create the Pattern Layer Style

Step 1

Double-click on the Pattern layer to apply the Layer Styles. Add a Stroke:

Size: 2 px

Position: Outside

Blend Mode: Normal

Opacity: 100%

Fill Type: Color

Color:#a8262d

Step 2

Now add an Inner Glow:

Blend Mode:Normal

Opacity: 100%

Noise: 0%

Color: #f15d62

Technique: Softer

Source: Edge

Choke: 100%

Size: 10 px

Uncheck the Anti-aliased

Range: 100%

Jitter: 0%

Step 3

Also add a Color Overlay with these settings:

Blend Mode: Soft Light

Color: #f59088

Opacity: 100%

Step 4

Add a Pattern Overlay:

Blend Mode: Normal

Opacity: 80%

Click on Pattern and select the pattern that we created earlier

Scale: 240%

As a result, you will have the following image:

5. How to Create the Stroke Layer Style

This is a simple step. All you need to do is to add a Stroke with these settings:

Size: 20 px

Position: Outside

Blend Mode: Normal

Opacity: 100%

Fill Type: Color

Color:#fb705c

As a result, you have the following image:

6. How to Create the Shadow Layer Style

Step 1

Double-click on Shadow layer to apply the following layer styles. Add a Bevel & Emboss using the following values:

Style: Outer Bevel

Technique: Smooth

Depth: 1000%

Direction: Up

Size: 21 px

Soften: 0 px

Uncheck the Use Global Light box before setting an Angle: 90°

Altitude: 30°

Gloss Contour: Linear

Uncheck the Anti-aliased

Highlight Mode: Normal

Highlight Color:#ffffff

Opacity: 0%

Shadow Mode: Multiply

Shadow Color:#000000

Opacity: 50%

Step 2

Add a Stroke with these settings:

Size: 20 px

Position: Outside

Blend Mode: Normal

Opacity: 100%

Fill Type: Gradient

Gradient: from #c88206 to #753104

Style: Linear

Angle: -90°

Scale: 100%

Uncheck Reverse and Dither

Check Align with Layer

Step 3

Add a Drop Shadow:

Blending Mode: Normal

Color:#000000

Opacity: 75%

Uncheck the Use Global Light box before setting an Angle: 90°

Distance: 11 px

Spread: 47%

Size: 38 px

As a result, you will have the following image:

7. How to Create the Outer Stroke Layer Style

Add a Stroke with these settings:

Size: 30 px

Position: Outside

Blend Mode: Normal

Opacity: 100%

Fill Type: Gradient

Gradient: from #bc1526 to #c72435

Style: Linear

Angle: 90°

Scale: 100%

Uncheck Reverse and Dither

Check Align with Layer

As a result, you will have the following image:

Congratulations, You’re Done!

The brain text effect is ready. Here is the final image. I hope you enjoyed the tutorial.

Don’t forget to share your result with us.

By the way, if you want to change the text, double-click on the Smart Object icon, and Photoshop will open a new PSB file. Change the text, go to File > Save to save changes and File > Close to close this file. After that, you will get an updated file with a new word.